More Texas

Cutest Cafe In Castroville

When driving through Castroville, I always try to stop by an old filling station-cafe on 1101 Fiorella Street, right in the heart of this small town–& by heart I mean down the road from the charming potters as well as a two-story thrift shop. The only problem is that it’s not always open — it keeps odd hours, changes names, and is occasionally closed — so I’ve struck out several times. Fortunately we hit a homer on a broiling August day at Magnolia Filling Station, as it’s now called.  Three fresh-faced UTSA grads welcomed us and offered iced cold brew coffee, a variety of sandwiches, and a freezer full of gelato. Air conditioning worked too, and games like Boggle are available for all. It’s only open until 2, so don’t delay.

To add to my joy, in the outside seating area (near the abandoned remnant of what must have once pumped gas) we spotted a little bird-cage-shaped mailbox labeled Black Rose Writing.

The windowed box is actually a carrier for littlefreelibrary.org — readers are invited to take a book as well as leave a book. Being loaded down, I wasn’t eager to pick up a fat Sue Grafton, Danielle Steele or Jodi Picoult novel. Now that I look more closely at the picture I took, Deborah Johnson’s The Secret of Magic was stacked atop all the rest. Johnson’s second novel is about a young black female civil rights lawyer in the south of the 1940s. Dang–that’s a miss. (And that’s four women novelists, if you weren’t counting.)

Found an abandoned Catholic Church in Medina County, Texas

When I think about the Catholic Church in Texas, I think of Spanish colonizers and their aftermath. But here in Medina County, Catholics from Alsace, France, came, saw, and (if not conquered) made their mark, and that mark includes architecture, food and churches.

My sister brought us here to see the ruins of Saint Dominic Catholic Church, and it was like touring an ancient European abbey. Which it is, in an American sense. A congregation formed in 1847 when D’Hanis colony was founded; in 1853, the town became a mission parish and the church was built of local limestone. According to church records, the timber frame was hauled by ox-cart from the Medina River.  In 1868, the first resident pastor arrived, and a sandstone extension was built just for him. The cemetery in back dates to 1847, beginning with the burial of a child of settlers from Alsace. Some of the graves are in German, others in what looks like an Alsatian dialect.

As for the ruins? Blame the saga of the American rails. Southern Pacific Railroad missed the town — with grievous economic impact. So, not to be ignored, in 1913 the town moved 1.5 miles west to “New” D’Hanis. And so did the parish church. And now we see what happens to a church ignored for 100 years….

More church images.

NB: In the mid 1800s, two towns were established by Alsatian immigrants (the local info terms them “settlers”) who’d been led to Texas by a count named Castro and his representative, Theodore Gentilz. Castroville (named for the count) and D’Hanis (the surname of the “Manager of the Colonization Society”) remain strongly marked by the influx, with dozens of residents who can trace their line back to the initial settlement.

 

Texas Travel

Even at a supposed spa in the Woodlands, an upscale purpose built 48,000-acre community an hour north of Houston, women looking for “concealer” are as often looking for a place to hide their gun as a cosmetic to eliminate under-eye circles. Forty-nine bucks for this concealed carry bag, lock included.

When you have time in Texas, visit Tractor Supply stores — always a trip. This time we saw baby chicks gathering for dinner (theirs, not ours) and gun safes in two sizes.

According to its own site, Tractor Supply Company is an American retail chain of stores that offers products for home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, and livestock, equine and pet care. It is a leading U.S. retailer in its market.

While there, a man had come in to consult about the maggots infesting his horse. Apparently a neighbor had told him they might clear up the infection but he wasn’t sure. I wouldn’t be sure, either. I do think that we should all think about maggots and their purpose more. Theoretically.

Eventually night approaches, and the birds line up for a place to rest.

Love Texas still, always will.

Delta and Theory

Thinking while aloft: does it count?

On chilly plane to TX in August, rereading one of MC Hyland’s Five Essays on the Lyric, on the topics of changing perceptions (rereadings) of the words of the grandmothers and many other matters. Included is this line from Barbara Johnson: female logic is a way of rethinking the logic of choice in a situation in which none of the choices are good.